SS15 CAMPAIGN

SS15 Lookbook Part One

Born and bred in England, Karen Millen is known globally for creating beautifully crafted fashion for confident women who know their own style.

Each piece of their collection has been individually designed, hand-crafted and perfected by the designers in their in-house atelier to deliver their signature quality and attention to detail. From couture-inspired techniques to luxurious heritage fabrics, every KM garment has a story to tell.

Under the creative direction of their CCO, Gemma Metheringham, the range has become a curated collection of perfectly cut trend-led and investment pieces offering an elevated, tailored approach to fashion. Truly international, Karen Millen has stores in over 65 countries across six continents including flagship stores in London’s Knightsbridge and New York’s Fifth Avenue.

We believe that those who work in our global supply chain should be provided with the rights and protection of international labour standards, as set out in our Code of Conduct. The Code covers a number of provisions, including no child labour, safe working conditions, a living wage, no excessive hours and protection of the environment. The Code forms part of our overall Ethical Trading strategy which also includes monitoring and auditing of the supply base.

Our approach to Ethical Trading is to work in partnership with our suppliers based on transparency, co-operation and continuous improvement. We recognise that suppliers may sometimes face complex challenges in upholding our code standards. Where this is the case, we assist them in making ongoing improvements and regularly follow up with them to ensure satisfactory progress is achieved. We firmly believe that this is in the best interests of the workforce, as it is important that their livelihoods are protected.

We continue to work with the Aurora Ethical Trading team located in London and China who work closely with our team and our suppliers to progress our strategy and ensure this remains effective.

We are closely involved in the development and implementation of the Ethical Trading strategy through the Ethical Trading Working Party which has representatives of Karen Millen, Coast, Oasis and Warehouse. The role of the working party is to develop policy, review the audits and support other Ethical Trading projects. The group ensures we benefit from best practice and knowledge across the brands. Additional CSR Policies

As well as our Code of Conduct on labour standards, we have adopted a number of other CSR policies which are contained within our supplier terms and conditions. These include:

Ban on cotton from Uzbekistan owing to ongoing concerns about forced labour, including forced child labour.
REACH policy complying with EU regulations which aims to protect human health and the environment from dangerous substances.
Animal welfare policy which bans real fur and animal testing on cosmetic or hygiene products.

A long-term auditing programme, which includes year on year increases in the percentage of the supply base audited are in place. In China we have our own internal auditors whilst outside China we use external auditors.
The audits cover all aspects of the Code and include confidential worker interviews, reviews of all relevant documents, a physical site inspection of both production sites and worker dormitories and interviews with management. In China we have experimented with more participatory methods of auditing involving a more active role for workers in order that workers' voices are better heard. We are also members of SEDEX www.sedex.org.uk which is an online database that allows factories to share audits with all their buyers. As SEDEX members we do not simply accept others audits unless we feel sure they have been conducted to a sufficient standard of rigour.

Supplier Conferences
In 2008 we participated in two supplier Ethical Trading conferences in China and Turkey, supported by local country experts. These enabled us to explain, in practical terms, what our policies mean and how they should be implemented. The conferences also covered relevant areas of local employment legislation and raised awareness of other key labour issues in the garment industry, including Uzbekistan cotton.

The brand is now available in over 350 stores and concessions in 45 countries worldwide, with 100 stores in the UK and over 250 internationally.

The brand is currently in the most prestigious fashion cities including; London, Paris, Madrid, New York, L.A. and Hong Kong. 2011 has been a hugely successful year for us, and the last five years has seen the brand truly emerge globally with international turnover increasing by over 400%.

One of the key components of the brand's success is its distinct signature that has remained constant throughout expansion. By offering a consistent franchise and cohesive brand experience worldwide, Karen Millen maintains its reputation as one of the most recognised brands in the world, with women worldwide wanting to buy into the brand's signature style.

The international success of Karen Millen has been underpinned by the expansion of the franchise business. We are committed to developing our international portfolio by working in collaboration with experienced like-minded partners to ensure the continued global growth of the brand. If you are interested in finding out more about franchising or licensing with Karen Millen please contact BusinessDevelopment@karenmillen.co.uk

OUR VALUES AND ETHICS
Treat each other with honesty and integrity
Commitment to encouraging creativity and innovation
Commitment to nurture and develop people to the extent of their desired career path
We will communicate regularly on matters that affect employees
Encourage regular performance feedback and celebrate success

The Karen Millen Behaviours
Without a doubt you will be self-motivated and obsessed about delivering great results
Passion and natural ability to deliver exemplary service at all times
Team orientated yet individually accountable
Commercially focused and motivated to continually deliver results and identify new opportunities
Creative and innovative
You will need to be numerate to GCSE level (or equivalent) and possess excellent communication skills
IT literacy is advantageous in stores and essential in most office roles

London Head Office (Old Street tube) and Stanton Harcourt Head Office in Witney, Oxford

Whilst most of the roles we employee probably require relevant qualifications or technical skills, we are open to hearing from talented and passionate people who feel they can bring something special to Karen Millen. The London Old Street office is the heart of the product innovation, production, design and store liaison. There are many departments based here:

PRODUCT DESIGN
We are entirely design led with our ranges designed in-house. The team inspires, guides and informs the business on upcoming trends. They are responsible for developing new shapes and key pieces for the new season and providing colour and looks for the season's collections.

PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT (no buying function in KM)
The team are responsible for the development of our garments from conception through to delivery, ensuring that the critical path is managed effectively.

MERCHANDISING
The team is responsible for all financial aspects of planning and trading for a department. It does this by working closely with the the Buying and Design teams to deliver a well-balanced and commercial range.

INTERNATIONAL
The team manages the relationships we have with our overseas partners. International is an exciting and rapidly growing area of the business who are responsible for maintaining brand integrity, product merchandising and the visual proposition.

RETAIL OPERATIONS
Retail Operations is the communication link between Karen Millen stores, field teams and head office.

GARMENT PRODUCTION
Our production team consists of our own internal supplier working closely with the design and product development departments. The Production Department assures the quality of the product, from first sample through to delivery. The team also assess the supply base for its suitability for the brand and monitors new and existing supplier's compliance to our standards of making and delivery of the range. Garment Technologists are responsible for the fit and quality of the garments, from design to manufacture, making sure that the most appropriate construction methods are used. Working closely with designers and pattern cutters their responsibilities include fabric testing, garment fittings and analysing product returns and faults. Pattern Cutters work closely with the Designers, to create accurate pattern templates from working drawings produced by a fashion designer. Once they produce the initial pattern, the in-house sample machinist makes up an example garment. The Pattern cutters then work with designers and garment technologists to make any adjustments or alterations to produce the final pattern. Sample machinists produce garment sample to show the design team how the finished item will look. They follow fabric, colour and size instructions from the designer, pattern cutter and garment technologist to prepare the sample and advise the design team.

HOW TO APPLY
Once you have mentally confirmed you fit the DNA to apply to Karen Millen and you feel you have the necessary skills, qualification or talent necessary for a particular role, you can forward your CV to: recruitment@karenmillen.co.uk

Please submit an updated CV and covering letter stating your current salary, what role you are interested in, and for which location. Once we have received your CV your details will be forwarded to the appropriate manager who will manage your application. If you have speculatively submitted your CV we will assess your details against the criteria of any our vacancies and we will contact you should it be appropriate. We are unable to contact all candidates unless you have been successful in progressing with a vacancy.

STYLE ADVISOR
You will be a team player working to achieve exceptional personalised customer service.
You will need a real interest in people and have superb communication skills to demonstrate your genuine passion for the brand and knowledge of our luxurious collection.

SUPERVISOR
You will lead by example to meet your customer's individual needs.
In addition, you will support the store management team to coach and develop the Style Advisors.
This is your opportunity to learn key management skills and understand commercial performance.

ASSISTANT MANAGER
Your ability to motivate and guide the store team will be crucial to support the Store Manager and drive commercial performance.

MANAGER
You will be running your own part of the Karen Millen business and your responsibilities include visually merchandising your store with attention to detail to create a unique shopping experience for your customers, analysing commercial data, and recruiting, training, developing and motivating your team to improve sales and consistently deliver outstanding customer service.

HOW TO APPLY

There are two main ways to apply: contact your local store directly as each store manager manages his or her own recruitment. You will need to give your CV and ideally include a covering letter to the relevant store. Alternatively, you could email a CV and covering letter to: recruitment@karenmillen.co.uk

In your communication please state what role you are interested in and for which location. Once we have received your CV your details are then forwarded to the appropriate store who will manage your application â€" you should contact the store to which you applied for any progress update. When we have specific store management roles we sometimes advertise using Retail Choice. You must have the legal right to work in the country to which you are applying and the minimum age is 16. Due to the high volume of applications that we receive we regrettably cannot personally reply to all candidates and so stores will only contact successful candidates to progress your application.

We have established links with specific educational institutions for long periods of work experience, so these opportunities are quite hard to get, but if you are interested please note we start recruiting for these early. We are always keen to try and support work placements where there will be some tangible benefit to you as a placement, so feel free to send in a CV and covering letter stating what type of placement you are interested in, and we will see what we can do. Please send your CV to: recruitment@karenmillen.co.uk